


The Strange Life of Talia MacDonald

by R R Greer (RogueDayDreamer)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, F/F, F/M, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M, Multi, Other, Vampire Bites, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:20:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25092268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RogueDayDreamer/pseuds/R%20R%20Greer
Summary: Vampires revealed themselves to the world and as a result, life on earth changed forever. Though, at the time, Talia MacDonald had bigger problems. Talia moved to the small town of Engel to be with her girlfriend, but found herself stuck in the town when said girlfriend left her for another woman. Two years later, Talia meets a strange man in the bar she works. Antoine.Talia realizes instantly that Antoine is a vampire. The first she’s met since vampires ‘came out.’ She’s immediately drawn to the mysterious man and when he saves her life, their relationship starts off strong.In such a small town, it’s very noticeable when not one, but two women turn up dead. When vampires are blamed, Talia begins on a quest to prove it was a human that killed them. A quest that puts her in danger.
Relationships: OC/OC





	The Strange Life of Talia MacDonald

**Author's Note:**

> Content/Trigger Warnings:  
> Mention of sexual assault (Not depicted, only discussed with little to no detail)  
> Depictions of unhealthy/abusive relationships (not romanticized)  
> Non-graphic depiction of sexual activity (no sex scenes)  
> Violence/attempted murder  
> Mention of drug use  
> Blood drinking (vampires so yeah…)
> 
> If you are reading this and you find other things that you believe need a warning placed here, PLEASE tell me so. I want for my readers to be safe. 
> 
> ~
> 
> The following story is not a True Blood fanfiction per say. What I have done is take my own characters and inserted them into some of the basic structures of True Blood and the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charleine Harris. In the first part, my story is extremely similar to the plot of the first season/book of True Blood, but you will see as it continues that while I do still take inspiration from the preexisting media, that a lot is of my own invention.
> 
> One thing I want to be abundantly clear on is that this is NOT a ‘fix it fic.’ This is not my attempt to write True Blood better or in my own vision. This is simply an exercise of writing my characters using some already existing plots in order to cause interesting dialogue and dynamics between my own characters.
> 
> That said, in some cases of characters, I felt no need to ‘reinvent the wheel,’ as they say. I didn’t have preexisting characters I wanted to fill the slot, so I did simply look at the characters from the original media and morph them slightly to fit my needs in this story. What resulted was not the same character exactly, but they still are likely recognizable to those who have watched the TV show and/or read the books.

It was a normal evening at Gilmour’s Bar and Grill. It was a Wednesday and there were a few small groups of people who had just gotten out of church. The owner, Gil, stood behind the bar filling beers while the waitresses buzzed around, taking orders and delivering meals to the tables.

On the TV above the bar, a television host was interviewing someone.

“What do you have to say to those that still believe vampires are a threat to humanity?” the host asked.

The interviewee, who appeared to be a middle aged but handsome white man, smiled kindly and replied, “Catherine, I know that is a fear on many American’s minds. Let me answer by simply pointing at known facts. Vampires have been around just as long as humans and yet…” he gestured vaguely around him, “humans have thrived. Vampires have not wiped humanity out. Vampires as a whole have no desire to destroy human-kind. Many enjoy living alongside humans, having careers, friends, and even families. Now that synthetic blood takes care of our dietary needs, aside from only being able to come out at night, vampires are not so different from humans. We have hopes and dreams, as well as fears. We just wish to live in peace and share this earth with our human brothers and sisters.”

I had taken a short rest by the bar to watch the TV. There was something endlessly fascinating about the vampire situation. They recently were given the option to apply for documentation that would account for their lack of a birth certificate and social security number in the USA and granted them the ability to apply for credit cards, buy property, and pay taxes. But there were those who thought those rights needed to be rolled back, to protect humans from vampires.

“Talia,” Gil said warningly, “The customers?”

I sighed and nodded, grabbing my writing pad and returning to work. It wasn’t a particularly busy night, but voices buzzed around me annoyingly. Not just audible voices either. Internal ones. While I heard what was coming out of people’s mouths, I also felt thoughts radiate from their minds. Not _words_. But ideas. For example, the pair of teenage boys, dressed in their church clothes, were thinking about my breasts and butt as I took their orders. One was tempted to spill something on the ground to watch me bend over to clean it. The other hoped I would reach across the table, giving him a good look down my shirt. I felt one of the patrons at the bar, watching the news, had rage swirling in him as he believed all vampires needed to be hunted down and killed.

One of my fellow waitresses, Rhonda, was thinking about her kids at home. She worried about the new babysitter she’d hired. Gil, my boss and owner of the bar, was harder to read, but I could tell he was on edge. When the door opened and a new customer entered, he tensed.

I turned to see the newcomer and froze. It was a vampire. No question about it. The aura emanating from him unmistakable. Before vampires had revealed themselves to the world, I had no idea why certain people had a different glow to them. I assumed it was part of the natural variance of humanity. But over the last two years, I realized there was nothing _human_ about it. I’d seen vampires here and there, but not so close. No one I’d have to talk to.

The vampire glanced around as he walked in and then sat at a table in my section.

Fighting to keep my professional composer, I approached.

“Welcome to Gilmour’s. What can I get you?”

“A bottle of TruBlood, please… Talia,” he said in a smooth voice with a foreign accent, reading my name tag.

“Oh, I’m… I’m so sorry, but we don’t have that. We’ve… Well, we’ve never had a… No one ever requested it so Gil hasn’t kept any in stock. Is there something else I can get you?”

His lips twitched into a semi smile and he said, “A glass of red wine, please.”

“Right away,” I said and spun around to head to the bar.

I gave Gil the order, unable to contain my smile.

“Be careful,” he warned as he prepared a glass.

“I’ll be fine,” I assured him.

Gil’s lips tightened but he didn’t say anything. As I turned to bring the vampire his drink, my heart sank to see a pair of locals joined him. Debbie and Jeff Bell. They were known to be the main source of drugs in the small town of Engel.

“Your red wine,” I said, my voice shaking slightly as I set it in front of the vampire, “Can I get y’all anything?” I asked of the new additions, trying to sound polite.

“Beer,” Jeff said, sneering as if he was annoyed I would even ask.

“Fries,” Debbie said shortly. They were not people of many words.

I just stared at them for a long moment, feeling rushes of thoughts pour out of them. Debbie was thinking about the vampire. Specifically his blood. And money. Lots of money. Jeff was feeling excited, expectant. I’d felt it from him before, it was what he felt before indulging in his favorite drugs. And he was looking at the vampire.

“Hello?” Debbie’s voice cut through my thoughts.

The vampire was looking at me with a curious expression.

“Sorry, I’ll… I’ll get that right out for you.”

I rushed to the back and dragged Gil with me, out of sight of the customers.

“The Bells are planning on draining that vampire’s blood,” I told him in a rush.

Gil rolled his eyes, “You can’t know that.”

“They’re drug dealers and vampire blood sells for a lot.”

“He can take care of himself,” Gil said before turning away and returning to work.

I huffed and followed. When my eyes fell on the vampire’s table, Debbie was getting up, seeming annoyed, and leaving, pulling Jeff along with her, though his eyes were still on the vampire, full of hunger.

“What…?” I questioned as I approached the vampire’s table.

“I heard what you said,” the vampire explained, “To your boss.”

“You… heard that?”

“I have very good hearing. As do you, it seems,” he commented, “Perhaps you heard something from them I did not?”

I swallowed hard, “I just know them.”

“In any case, I am very appreciative,” he said softly, his voice seductive. “My name is Antoine.”

“Talia… but you knew that.”

He chuckled, “Yes. I am able to read.”

We looked at each other for what felt like forever. Not speaking. My mind reached out to his and I felt barely a whisper of his thoughts. It was not more than the smallest vibration, but I detected desire. What type, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps he was thirsty for blood, as we didn’t have the synthetic kind. Or… he wanted _me_.

I blinked, breaking our connection and shaking my head. That was crazy. Why would a vampire ever want me?

“I’ll let you get back to your drink,” I said and turned before he could respond.

As I continued to work, I watched him in my periphery. He sipped his drink slowly, usually staring into the middle distance. But every so often, his eyes would turn to me and his lips would turn up into a small smile. I blushed and averted my gaze, not wanting to be caught watching him. Eventually, he asked for the check and left, leaving me a larger than average tip.

My work suffered the rest of the night. I couldn’t stop thinking about the vampire… _Antoine_. I had met people who were hard to get a read on before, like Gil. But Antoine’s thoughts felt extremely muted. Almost nonexistent. I wondered if every vampire was like that. I’d never been close enough to a vampire to try to read them.

And what I _did_ feel… What made the most sense was that he was desiring blood. My blood or just blood in general. The vampires on TV liked to claim vampires weren’t mindless, bloodthirsty monsters but I wouldn’t’ve been surprised if vampires constantly felt thirsty.

Then again, the way he looked at me… watched me…

  
  


~

  
  


The next night, Antoine returned. He sat in my section again and watched me expectantly as I finished up what I was doing. When I approached to take his order, I said apologetically, “We still don’t have the TruBlood.”

He chuckled, “That is alright. Perhaps white wine tonight? And the pleasure of your company?”

I gulped, “I don’t get off work for hours.”

“I have nowhere to be,” he said simply.

“I’ll… I’ll get your wine,” I said, leaving before I could make a fool out of myself.

As I continued to work, Antoine simply watched me. Much more openly than the night before. He drank his wine with deliberate slowness. I realized I wasn’t the only one attuned to Antoine’s every movement. Gil watched him, his eyes only leaving the vampire when he had to pour a drink. Antoine didn’t seem to notice or if he did, he didn’t care.

Patrons of Gilmour’s hadn’t realized the previous night that he was a vampire, but word traveled fast and people were openly staring at him. Not in the aggressive way Gil was, but out of curiosity. I could feel the whole bar’s thoughts were firmly on the vampire. Some were disgusted such a creature would dare share space with them, but most were just full of questions. Some wanted to know where he slept, others wondered what blood tasted like. A surprising number wanted to know what sex with a vampire was like. However, as the night wore on, the patrons bored of him and moved on to other thoughts. Gil did not.

Gil’s thoughts weren’t as clear to me as most people’s. Since I didn’t hear words, I had to translate what I felt come from their minds. For some people, like Gil, it felt like, for lack of a better description, they spoke a different language. Because I’d worked for Gil for two years, I’d learned to translate his thoughts to a degree, but for the most part, his mind was still a mystery. What I felt emanating off him in waves was hatred. Directed squarely at the vampire.

Eventually, most everyone was gone and closing time neared. Antoine requested the check and spoke to me before he left.

“I will wait for you outside,” he said in his soft voice.

I could do nothing but nod. He flashed me a dazzling smile and then took his leave.

Gil stopped me as I did my closing work.

“Don’t,” he said, grabbing my arm.

“I’ll be fine,” I hissed, “Let go.”

“He’s looking at you like you’re something to eat,” Gil argued, “And to him, you _are_. Be smart, Talia. For…” he broke off.

“For once in my life?” I spat, “Go ahead, _say it_. I know you all think it. Do your own closing prep.”

I shoved an empty tray into Gil’s chest and pulled my arm out of his grasp, stomping out. I was seething as I walked through the parking lot towards my car, parked out of the way as to not take a spot from customers. Not even remembering I was supposed to be meeting someone. Not until I heard footsteps behind me.

“Antoine?” I questioned, turning around only to see Jeff.

I gasped and scrambled backwards, but not before Jeff landed a punch to my face. It didn’t knock me out, but I was briefly stunned. I tasted blood as I fell back onto the ground and I couldn’t see. Then I felt him grab my ankles and drag me back into the woods around the lot.

I coughed and spat blood, not finding the breath to scream for help. Once we were out of sight of the lot, Jeff pulled me up, wrapping his arm around my neck in a choke hold.

“No vampire can resist fresh blood,” he breathed in my ear.

“String her up here,” Debbie’s voice said in a hushed tone, “That vampire must be close.”

Jeff dragged me to a tree where he tied a rope around my neck. I gripped it as it pulled me upwards, trying not to let it choke me. They didn’t pull it so high my feet didn’t touch the ground, but I was already having trouble getting air and that didn’t help. Jeff punched me in the gut as I dangled and I wasn’t sure I would ever take a real breath again.

I choked and sputtered, wheezing as I tried to keep my feet under me. Then suddenly, the rope gave way and I fell to my knees. I heard movement around me, but couldn’t see. And then gentle hands gripped my shoulders.

I blinked my eyes quickly, trying to see through the blood and haze. It was Antoine… but it wasn’t. His eyes glowed a bright red in the darkness and his mouth was agape, fangs a startling white. He was breathing heavily and I felt hunger emanate from him.

He growled and lifted his wrist to his mouth, biting into it with a sickening squelch before pressing the wound to my lip. I didn’t have the presence of mind or energy to be disgusted or fight him off. I swallowed automatically and as I did, a desire for more filled me. I sucked at his wrist, feeling like I’d never be able to get enough. It was an unquenchable thirst.

As I drank his blood in a haze of desire, I felt him bite into my neck and drink from me. I made a small sound of pain, but the agony in my nose and stomach from Jeff’s abuse outweighed it. We stayed like that for what felt like forever. Drinking from each other, lost in our hungers.

I felt reluctance from Antoine as he pulled away, putting distance between us. I let out a whine of disappointment, wanting more blood. But in the moments we were separated, my senses returned and I realized what had happened. I touched my face and felt my bloody, but intact nose and realized all the pain in my body had vanished.

“Vampire blood heals,” he said, sounding breathless and his words slurring slightly as he spoke around his fangs, “You took enough to heal all your injuries.”

“Will I… become a vampire?”

“No. It is more complex than that. You will remain… whatever it is you are.”

“I’m a waitress.”

“You are more than that, Talia. You need not lie to me.”

“Jeff and Debbie?” I scrambled to my feet, looking around worriedly.

“Gone,” he said, also rising. “Talia, you are safe.”

“Gone?”

“Shall I walk you to your car?” he offered, ignoring my question.

I nodded silently, realizing I probably didn’t _want_ to know. He led the way through the trees, back to the parking lot. Rhonda’s car was still there. I realized what happened only took minutes, not the hours it felt like.

“They can’t see me like this,” I said, reaching in my pocket for my keys.

“May I join you?” Antoine asked.

I nodded as I opened my car door, “Get in.”

He slid into the passenger side and I pulled out of the parking lot. It struck me as funny, seeing such an elegant vampire in my run down car. I didn’t drive home. I wasn’t so naive as to let him know where I lived. Instead I drove to the nearby park and stopped the car.

“What happened?” I asked, my hands tight on the steering wheel. I kept my eyes down, not wanting to look at him.

“You were hurt… I gave you my blood and I…”

“You bit me.”

“You were bleeding. That is… hard for any vampire to resist. I apologize for that, though I consider us even as you also drank deeply from me.”

“Is that… weird?” I asked, not finding the right words.

He chuckled, “No. Vampires often share blood with humans. Especially humans with which… they are attached.”

I faced him, my eyes wide with surprise, “Attached?”

“Vampires’ minds and hearts do not work as humans’. The moment I saw you, I… felt protective of you. It is common with vampires to form such attachments quickly.”

“Without knowing me?”

“Yes. Though as I watched, I learned much about you. From the way you move, speak, interact with people… It all contributed to my feelings towards you.”

“What type of feelings?”

“I do not want to unsettle you,” he said, seeming hesitant, “But… romantic feelings.”

“Oh…”

“If you have no desire to pursue it, I will leave you be. But I sense you feel something as well.”

“Maybe…”

“I am willing to be patient. We can get to know each other. Perhaps… date, as humans call it.”

“Are you asking me out?”

He smiled, “I suppose I am. Do you have a night free?”

“Tomorrow. I have the day shift, so I’ll be free at sunset.”

“Where shall we meet?”

“Here?” I suggested.

He nodded once, “Alright. Tomorrow at sunset.”

“Should… I drive you home?” I questioned.

“I can walk,” he said, “Good night, beautiful Talia.”

He got out of the car and was gone when I blinked.

  
  


~

  
  


I felt extremely good the next day. Strong, energetic… _alive_. As I walked into work, I felt like I could take on the world. Until I saw Gil’s face. My stomach sank.

“Maggie Sinclair was found dead this morning,” he explained.

It was known by most that Maggie and Gil had a fling. She worked at Gilmour’s two years ago, when I started, and they had been together. They broke up not long after I began working there, for reasons unknown to me. I didn’t know Gil well at the time, so it wasn’t something we talked about. Maggie quit working at the bar and I’d seen her work at several local places since then. It seemed she had trouble keeping a job.

“I’m so sorry,” I told him, not sure what the right thing to do or say was.

Dani, one of my fellow waitresses, and I worked in silence as we prepared to open. Gil seemed lost in thought and grief, though his eyes remained dry. When customers came in, I could tell most everyone’s thoughts were on Maggie.

Since most people knew about Gil’s past with her, nearly everyone kept quiet about it. Everyone except loudmouth Jason Jackson. He was speaking to his friend, Rex Marsters, in a loud voice about Maggie Sinclair. I knew Jason didn’t mean anything by it. He didn’t know how to control his level of sound nor did he have the ability to recognize when something was inappropriate.

“Horrible,” he said to Rex, mouth full of burger, “I just saw Maggie two days ago.”

“How was she?” Rex asked.

“She seemed fine. Happy as she’d ever been. In fact, she was just tellin’ me about this vampire bar, down in Denton. Fangtasia? She’s been going there every few days, hookin’ up with vampires.”

“No way,” Rex breathed, shocked, “You’re joking…”

“Nah, man. She showed me the fang marks herself! Covered in them! Like they were trophies or something.”

Gil was tense and overfilled a pitcher of beer.

“Should I kick them out?” I asked as I mopped up.

Gil shook his head but said nothing.

“I can cover the bar if you need air,” I offered softly.

“I’m fine,” he said, his voice rough.

“You think a vampire killed her?” Rex asked Jason.

“Maybe! Maybe one got a little too rough. Took too much? Or maybe she turned into a vampire and tonight she’ll rise from the grave as one of them.”

“Oh, that’d be wild,” Rex sat back in the booth, his eyes wide with awe.

One of the patrons near them stood up and stomped towards them, “Y’all need to shut your fucking mouths,” she said.

“Sarah…” Jason began, but she held up a finger.

“Don’t talk to me, Jason Jackson. This bar is full of people mourning Maggie and you’re talking about her sex life. Either shut up or get out.”

“I didn’t—” he began.

“Out!” she pointed her finger to the door.

“Fine,” Jason pulled out his money and put it on the table as he and Rex left.

“Thanks,” I whispered to Sarah as I approached to clean the table.

“You were with a vampire last night,” she said. Sarah Rathbone was the no nonsense type. Always got straight to the point.

“Kind of…” I said, running a rag over the table.

“Any chance he did this?”

“Maybe. We only spent a few minutes together after I got off work so I guess it depends on what time she died.”

Sarah let out a dissatisfied harrumph before returning to her table with her boyfriend.

After Jason’s announcement of Maggie’s vampire experiences, the bar became full of whispers. Not only that, but I could feel accusatory thoughts. People thought Maggie got herself killed by spending time with vampires. They thought she got what she deserved. And that led them to thinking about me… and thinking I would be next if I saw the vampire again.

“Vampires aren’t that dangerous,” Dani told me a few hours into our shift, seeming annoyed, “I go to Fangtasia too. They’re not _that_ scary.”

I didn’t reply, just refilled a ketchup bottle.

“Besides, I heard from Deputy Jacobs that Maggie wasn’t even drained. No way would a vampire kill someone and not drain them.”

I clenched my jaw, remembering the previous night. How Antoine couldn’t resist drinking my blood. I fought the urge to ask Dani any questions. It wasn’t right, with Gil nearby. He was hurting and all the whispers were getting to him.

When work finally ended, I was exhausted, but also… excited. I wanted to see Antoine again. Dani’s words reassured me that it was unlikely Antoine killed Maggie. I couldn’t know for sure, of course, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe it.

Though my body was a little achy and all I really wanted to do was curl up into bed and sleep for a week, I showered and changed into a nice outfit before driving to the park to meet Antoine. I found one of the less nasty looking park benches and sat. When the park was illuminated only by a streetlamp, Antoine appeared out of the darkness.

He smiled and said, “Hello, Talia.”

“That’s a little creepy,” I pointed out, though I was amused.

“My apologies. I fear I do not know how to not be ‘creepy.’” He sat beside me on the bench.

“I’ll forgive you this time, but it’s something you’ll need to work on if this is gonna be a thing.”

His smile widened, “ _Is_ this going to be a thing?”

“Maybe. But first… Did you know Maggie Sinclair?”

His smile disappeared, “Why?”

“She was killed last night. Rumor is… she spent a lot of time with vampires.”

“I knew her,” he admitted. “I am sorry for her death.”

“You didn’t kill her?”

“No, I have not seen her in weeks.”

“Okay,” I nodded, satisfied.

“How did she die?”

“I don’t know. Dani, one of the other waitresses, told me a deputy said she wasn’t drained of blood. But that’s all I got.”

“I see. That is unfortunate. Is that why you are so tired?”

“Tired?”

“You seem worn from today. Perhaps you would rather return home to rest?”

“No!” I said a little too loudly and quickly. “No, I mean… I’ve been looking forward to seeing you.”

He smiled, “And I you. Shall we walk?” he stood and offered his hand.

I placed my hand in his. It was the first time we touched when I wasn’t all bloodied and broken. His skin was cool, but not cold like some fictional books described. About the same temperature as the air. He brought my hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to it before we began walking through the paths of the park.

“There need not be secrets between us,” he said gently. “There is something different about you, Talia.”

“Am I that obvious?”

“To a vampire, yes. No one else knows?”

“No one around here. What exactly do you think is different?”

“I am not quite certain. Something…”

“I can feel people’s minds,” I explained, feeling surprisingly comfortable telling him. He was a vampire, after all. He didn’t have room to judge. “Their thoughts and feelings… I can feel them.”

He was silent as he processed that.

“Say something, please,” I requested, suddenly feeling a little nervous about his reaction.

“Can you feel mine?” he asked quietly.

“No. Well, yes but… barely. It’s kinda nice,” I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind. There were some faint vibrations from small animals nearby, but no people. I felt a little from Antoine, barely there. He felt… curious. He had a lot of questions. “Ask. Anything you want.”

“You hear thoughts?”

“No, I just _feel_ them. I can’t hear sentences. It’s… like a language all its own, actually. I had to learn to translate it.”

“But mine, you cannot feel as strongly?”

“Exactly.”

“How long have you had this ability?”

“When I was eight, my family was in a car crash. We all were fine in the end, but I had a massive head injury. Lots of surgeries. After one of them, I woke up and I felt it. It gradually got stronger over the next few years, but that’s when it started.”

“Your parents knew?”

I nodded, “Never occurred to me to hide it and thankfully, they were pretty understanding. They never let it change how they felt about me.”

“Did you ever tell anyone else?”

“One person…” I looked away, “A few years ago.”

“What happened?”

“I met a girl and fell in love,” I said simply, fighting back the rushes of emotion that always accompanied those memories. “I told her everything and she accepted me. Until she decided to run off with another woman, leaving me with a house in the middle of a state far away from home.”

“You moved here for her,” he guessed.

“Yep. We bought land, planning on starting a small farm together. We were going to grow our own food, have goats and chickens… then she got bored and left.”

“But you stayed?”

“I spent a lot of my parents’ money on the house,” I admitted sheepishly, “I overpaid for it so I’ve been renovating, trying to make it worth something so I can resell it and at least make back a majority of what I lost.”

“You intend to leave as soon as you can sell the house?”

“Maybe. I haven’t really made any firm plans. Right now, I’m just enjoying working on it. My parents flipped a lot of houses when I was younger, so I’m pretty knowledgeable. It’s been a fun project, even if I’m in the middle of nowhere surrounded by closed minded folks.” I took a deep breath and faced him, “What about you? What brings you to Engel?”

“Business,” he said.

“You have a job?”

He smiled slightly, “Yes, vampires hold jobs as well. I work for a collector. She buys rare artifacts and as this is an older town with old families, there are objects of worth here.”

“That sounds fascinating.”

“It is quite an enjoyable task.”

“How long will you be here?”

“Likely quite a while. I intend to be thorough in my search.”

I smiled, “Lucky me.”

  
  


~

  
  


Antoine and I didn’t see each other over the weekend. I spent it working on the house and he said he had meetings with locals about family heirlooms. Though I ached to see him again, I appreciated the separation. Being around him was… intoxicating. It was hard to want to say goodbye. While apart, I found it hard to think about anything _but_ Antoine. Especially when painting the walls was so monotonous.

When I went into work on Monday, I felt a bit sore, presumably from all the painting, but I was in good spirits. Until I heard sobbing.

Rhonda was in Gil’s arms, shaking as she cried. My blood ran cold and I felt in their minds what happened.

Dani.

I choked and fell to my knees, tears flowing freely.

“Hey,” Gil moved with Rhonda still in his arms over to me and they knelt down, “It’ll be okay.”

Rhonda and I cried as Gil tried to comfort us as best he could. But emotions weren’t his strong suit.

“What… happened?” I hiccupped out.

“Dani didn’t show up for work all weekend,” Gil explained, “I went to her house to check on her and… she was dead.”

“How? How did she die?”

“Strangled,” he said and Rhonda started crying anew. “Just like… Maggie.”

“Maggie was _strangled_?” I asked.

He nodded, his jaw tense.

“There’s… a serial killer…”

“Seems that way,” Gil agreed.

“Dani said she went to Fangtasia too,” I said suddenly, eyes wide, “What if whoever it is targets girls from there?”

“Maybe. Talia, did you see Antoine on Friday?”

“Why?”

He looked at me pointedly.

I stood and crossed my arms, “He didn’t do it. A vampire wouldn’t strangle someone.”

“We don’t know what a vampire would do,” Gil argued, “We don’t know shit about them!”

“We know they’re _killers_ ,” Rhonda whispered, her voice shaking, still knelt on the ground.

“Not Antoine,” I snapped, turning on my heel and leaving.

I wasn’t sure where I was going. I just had to walk, burn off some anger. When I found myself in front of the sheriff’s office, however, I went in.

“Heya, Talia,” the receptionist greeted me. Lily, I thought her name was. She didn’t go to Gilmour’s often, but when she did it was usually on Jason’s arm. “How are you?”

“I… I have some information about the murders,” I said, steeling myself.

“Oh! I’ll get Sherriff Rose!” She sprang up and hurried to the offices. When she returned, she was dragging a very tired looking man, with a cup of coffee in his hand, “Sherriff, this is Talia. She works at Gil’s.”

“Ma’am,” he inclined his head politely, “What do you have for me?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause such a fuss…” I said nervously, not realizing I’d be introduced to the Sherriff, “I just… I talked to Dani just before she… she… Before the weekend. She said she often went to this vampire bar called Fangtasia and it’s just… Someone said Maggie went there a lot too, so I thought maybe someone was targeting women there. Maybe following them home from there to kill them?”

“Honey, if anyone killed them, it was a vampire,” he said wearily. “They had fang marks all over their bodies.”

“Fresh ones?” I questioned, “Were they drained?”

“That’s classified information Miss…”

“Talia McDonald. I’m just saying, if they weren’t drained, it probably wasn’t a vampire. Gil said they were both strangled and I don’t think—”

“It isn’t your job to think, sweetheart,” he said, “Go back to what you’re good at.”

I seethed at his words, sucked in air through my teeth, and spun around, stomping out.

I walked around town, my mind spinning. No one was going to listen. Everyone just wanted to accuse vampires. They were never going to find the killer if they were looking in the wrong place. And so my plan fell together. I had to go to Fangtasia.

  
  


~

  
  


“This is not what I imagined for our first date,” Antoine admitted as he drove to Denton.

“Wouldn’t the park count as our first date?” I questioned.

“Not officially. I would not count something so casual as a date. The park was a meeting.”

“Alright,” I conceded with a laugh, “Well, this doesn’t have to be a date either. This is an investigation.”

“If you believe someone is targeting women who go to Fangtasia, are you not worried you may be targeted as well?”

“If I am, you’ll protect me, won’t you?” I asked, looking up at him with my best puppy dog eyes.

He smiled, “Of course. But I cannot protect you in daylight.”

“If they’re taking their victims home, I’m safe because I won’t leave with anyone but you. If they’re _following_ them home, we just won’t go straight to my house.”

“You have this all figured out…” he chuckled. “Talia, I must warn you, however… a human murderer is not the only danger at a vampire bar. As I told you, vampires work differently than humans. A vampire may attempt to… claim you.”

“Claim me?” I furrowed my brows at him.

“When a vampire lays claim to a human, no other vampire is allowed to touch them.”

“Does the human get any say in this?”

“No. Not if the vampire in question does not care. For this reason… you will be safest if I claim you to be mine.”

“So you’ll… what, announce when we arrive that I belong to you?”

“Nothing so dramatic. If any vampire shows interest, I will make it known. Though, obviously, this is for your protection. I do not view you as my property, but the vampires need to believe this for you to be safe.”

“Fine,” I nodded, “As long as you don’t think it gives you any power over me.”

“Of course not.”

We arrived at Fangtasia and I had to show my ID at the door, though Antoine did not. I instantly recognized the woman at the door as a vampire. She had the same aura as Antoine and I also found her thoughts to be too quiet to feel clearly.

When we entered, I could tell very few people there were actually vampires. In the whole bar, maybe three inside radiated that same aura. We ordered drinks from the vampire bartender, who looked me up and down slowly.

“Tristan, my companion has a few questions for you,” Antoine said to him.

“I am more than happy to answer any questions a beautiful human has,” Tristan leaned towards me, over the bar, flashing me a charming smile.

“I… uh…” I pulled out pictures of Maggie and Dani, “Have you seen these women here?”

Tristan looked disappointed and said, “Really?”

“It’s important. Please?”

He sighed. “Yes. Both. That one,” he pointed at Maggie, “Came nearly every day. That one,” he pointed to Dani, “Was here on Friday.”

“Did you see who they hung around with or who they left with?” I asked excitedly.

“No,” Tristan said firmly, “We don’t notice that here. If you’re smart, you won’t either.”

“Oh… right. I’m sorry. Of course. Thanks so much for your help,” I gushed out.

“Thank you,” Antoine said, guiding me away from the bar by the arm, our drinks in hand.

“Did I already fuck up?” I whispered to him.

“No, you did fine,” he assured me as we sat at a table away from the main flurry of activity.

People were dancing and gyrating, engaging in activities that seemed borderline illegal in public. But that seemed the norm for Fangtasia, as no one gave them a second glance. I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind, though I wasn’t sure what I was searching for. Maybe anger? Hatred? Someone with a vendetta against vampires? What I found was desire. Lots and lots of desire. It was like a fog around my mind, leaching into my own feelings. I squirmed uncomfortably in my chair as I felt it affect me in a biological way.

I shook myself, trying to block it out. That was when I noticed Antoine had tensed.

“We should go,” he said lowly.

“But… are there more people we can ask? Maybe the doorwoman? Or…”

“You can ask me anything,” a voice came from the crowd. A man with a wide smile on his face pulled up a chair and sat at our table leisurely, “Antoine, lovely to see you again. Who is your friend?”

“She is mine,” Antoine said, his voice quiet and dangerous.

The man rolled his eyes and looked at me, “My name is Damian. I’m the proud owner of this establishment. And you are…?”

“Talia,” I squeaked out, not sure how to act.

“Talia,” he said slowly, seeming to savor my name. “How beautiful…”

“Talia is mine,” Antoine growled.

Damian sighed and waved a hand dismissively, “Dear Talia, what can I do for you? Tristan tells me you’re asking about some patrons?”

“Uh, right…” I fumbled in my bag for the pictures, “Have you seen these women here?”

I set the pictures on the table and Damian looked them over.

“Oh, yes. Often. Has something happened?”

“They… they were killed,” I said quietly.

Damian’s smile became a deep frown and his relaxed posture tensed, “Killed? How?”

“Strangled.”

“Not by vampires then,” he said, more to himself than me.

“That’s not what the sheriff thinks,” I explained, “Everyone’s convinced vampires are behind it, but…”

“Were the bodies drained of blood?” he asked.

“I didn’t get a straight answer, but I don’t think so.”

“Were they friends of yours?”

“No, not really. Coworkers.”

“I am sorry such tragedy brought you here, Talia,” he said softly, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I think someone’s coming here to target women,” I said as quietly as I could, “A human who maybe hates women who… who…”

“Fuck vampires,” Damian offered helpfully.

“Basically,” I mumbled, my cheeks growing warm, “If anyone saw who Dani left with on Friday…”

“I’m deeply sorry, but I fear we cannot help you there.”

“Right,” I sighed and nodded, “Thank you for your time.”

I started to get up to leave, but Damian put his hand on mine. Antoine let out a hiss.

“You came all this way,” Damian said, ignoring Antoine, “Is there no way I can convince you to stay a while?”

“It’s not really my scene,” I said apologetically.

Damian frowned at something behind me, “I imagine the people having sex on a table isn’t helping.” He looked toward the bartender and gave a meaningful glance. The bartender nodded and moved towards the couple. “We have private rooms for a reason, people!” he said loudly.

“Private rooms?” I questioned.

“For private affairs,” he said, his smile returning.

“Move your hand,” Antoine growled. Damian’s hand was still on mine. “Talia is—”

“Yours, yes, I heard,” Damian removed his hand and leaned back in the chair. “How does Talia feel about that?” he looked at me expectantly.

“I’m his,” I said simply. Though my voice wavered slightly.

Damian’s smile widened, “I understand. If you ever change your mind, however…”

“We should go,” Antoine grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

On the drive home, Antoine’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. I feared it was going to snap in his hands.

“I’m sorry,” I told him, “I’m sorry I made us go there.”

“This is not your fault,” he told me, “Damian is… He is a very old vampire and he usually gets what he wants. And he decided he wanted you.”

“That shouldn’t matter, right? You told him I’m ‘yours.’”

“He does not seem to care. Whatever you do, stay far away from him. He is old and dangerous.”

  
  


~

  
  


Having hit a dead end in my investigation, I spent my free time working on the house. Antoine offered to help me, as he was a vampire with more stamina and strength, so I invited him inside. Though I was mainly spending my time painting the living room, I decided Antoine’s strength was best utilized in the demolition of the kitchen. So I donned a mask and thick gloves and he and I worked on tearing out the burnt cabinets.

“You bought a partially burned down house?” he questioned as he carefully removed a cabinet, being sure he wasn’t taking down a wall with it.

“I thought I was getting a good deal,” I admitted sadly, “I told you, my parents flipped houses when I was younger so all this seemed really doable… especially with…”

“Your girlfriend,” he acknowledged.

I felt the familiar ache in my heart as I remembered her, “Yeah. She… she was pretty strong and good with her hands. With my knowhow and her physical abilities, this seemed like a fun project to do together.”

“I am sorry,” he offered softly as the cabinet popped off the wall and he lowered it down to the floor, meeting my eyes as he did so, “I am sure leaving you will come to be her worst regret.”

I gave a dry laugh, “Thanks for saying so, but the woman she left me for must be… pretty fucking amazing. She seemed smitten.”

“You have… only dated women in the past?” Antoine asked as he began work on the next cabinet.

“I’ve dated men. None as serious as Wanda.”

“You are bisexual, then?”

“I am.”

He let out a breath, seeming a little relieved.

“Did you think I was a lesbian just playing with you for the heck of it?” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I was not certain,” he admitted, “I did not want to assume.”

“I’m bi,” I said firmly, “I like men, women, and nonbinary people. What… what about you?” I asked, a little tentative.

“I have been with men before,” Antoine explained, “But I do find I prefer the company of women.”

“So you’re straight?”

“Would you consider a man who has been with men straight?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Past experiences don’t equal sexuality,” I told him, “If it did, lesbians who’d been with men wouldn’t be lesbians.”

“I suppose I do not feel comfortable identifying as anything in particular.”

“That’s fair,” I agreed, sweeping dust from the demolition into a bin, “I imagine labels were a bit different when you were younger.”

“Indeed,” he confirmed.

“When… was that?” I ventured, my voice becoming high with nervousness.

He smiled at me, “Are you asking my age?”

I nodded.

“I was turned in nineteenth century France.”

“You’re French?”

“You could not tell by my accent?”

“Sorry, I’m not good about accents. I wasn’t even sure if you were European.”

He bristled a little at my words but then his face relaxed and he smiled again, “I am. I suppose over the years, my accent has evolved. I spent much time in other countries, speaking many different languages. English is my… sixth language, I believe.”

“When did you learn English?” I asked, fascinated.

“Around fifty years ago. I knew a little before that, as English is commonly spoken in many countries, but did not speak it fluently until I lived in London in the eighties.”

“When’d you come to America?”

“Only five years ago. My employer came to Texas and I followed.”

“Wow… So you’re _brand new_ to America… You must think it’s really backwards compared to Europe.”

“In some ways, yes. But… I find I have a fondness for some people here,” he looked at me with dark eyes, full of desire.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably and looked away, returning to my task of cleaning.

“What brought _you_ to Texas?” he asked. “Why this town in this state?”

“I’m from Colorado,” I explained, “But W-Wanda,” I struggled to say her name, “Was from Dallas. She wanted to be within a few hours of her family, so this area seemed a good compromise. When we found this house, we kinda fell in love and saw… saw a real future here. So…”

“But it is far from _your_ family.”

I nodded, feeling a lump in my throat. Suddenly, Antoine was knelt beside me, his hand on my shoulder. Then he slowly pulled my mask down and ran a finger over my lips.

“You are too beautiful to cry,” he murmured, his face inches from mine.

The words confused me and I wasn’t really sure what he meant, but before I could contemplate, his lips were pressed to mine. He wrapped one hand around the back of my neck, holding me close, while the other rested on my waist.

His movements were slow, deliberate, and stoked a fire inside me. I pressed myself closer to him, wrapping my arms around his body. In a fluid motion that seemed to take no effort on his part, he lifted me from the floor without breaking the kiss and carried me to the living room, out of the dusty kitchen, and lowered me onto the soft couch.

Antoine held his body above mine as his hands roved my curves and his lips and tongue expertly kissed me. Though I’d been intimate with people before, I felt like a novice with him. I couldn’t help but imagine the many people he likely had been with, honing his skills as a kisser and… a lover.

“Wait,” I panted, putting my hands on his shoulders to keep him at a distance. He looked down at me, frowning.

“Are you alright?” he asked, “Did I hurt you?”

“No, I… I just wanted to tell you I’d… I’ve only had sex with one person before… _Wanda_ and I—”

Antoine smiled, “That is alright.” His voice was low and rumbled through my entire body, “I will show you pleasures a woman could not.”

I opened my mouth to argue his words, but he pressed down on me again, ravaging my mouth with his and letting the weight of his body lay on me, keeping me pinned beneath him. Though I wanted to say how homophobic and sexist, and even transphobic, his comment was, I felt a buzzing in my head that made thinking difficult. Plus the pulsing down quite a bit lower…

Besides, I argued with myself dazedly, he was very old and probably could learn to be better…

We made out for what felt like hours, and when he pulled away, I grabbed at him, wanting more. But my grip on his shirt was no match for him and he untangled himself from my limbs, smiling in satisfaction.

“You are a vision,” he said, looking at me as I laid panting on the couch, my clothes disordered and my hair a mess. “But I think we should leave some things for later. Something to look forward to, yes?”

“Sure,” I nodded breathlessly, “I… I guess so.”

“I should get some work of my own done before sunrise,” he pulled on his jacket, “I had a lovely time, my beautiful Talia.”

He flashed me a dazzling smile before he took his leave.

  
  


~

  
  


The next day, as I worked at Gil’s, I had a hard time concentrating on anything. Customers had to repeat their orders multiple times and I didn’t even hear Gil talking to me until he grabbed my arm to get my attention.

“What’s going on?” he demanded, though he seemed a little concerned.

“Just a lot on my mind,” I shrugged, “I’m sorry. I’ll get it together.”

“What’s on your mind?” Gil asked, his voice softening.

“Antoine,” I admitted, dropping my eyes to the floor and fearing his reaction. I knew he hated the vampire.

“Did he hurt you?” Gil asked quickly.

“No, no… Things are going great. He helped me remodel my house last night.”

“You invited him in?”

“Well, yeah… we’re dating, so… It’d be rude not to.”

He scoffed and said, “He’s a _vampire_. I thought you were smarter than that.”

My head jerked up suddenly to look at him, my eyes blazing.

“I didn’t mean…” he began quickly, but he didn’t finish his thought.

“Yes you did,” I said through clenched teeth, “I know everyone here thinks I’m stupid. Sorry if I actually want to find some _happiness_ in this stupid fucking life. Sorry if I’m willing to risk being stupid here and there in the hopes of finding _something_.”

He took a deep breath and nodded, “I’m sorry, Talia,” he said slowly, “You’re right. Life’s about taking risks. I just don’t think a vampire is a risk anyone should take.”

“Why do you even care? I just work here.”

“Since you came here… I… I just care about you,” he said, his voice sounding a little strained, “Maybe I should’ve said something earlier but I… I like you.”

I looked at him with wide eyes. “You what?”

“I like you,” he repeated, his voice a little firmer and more confident.

Startled, I closed my eyes, breathing deeply. My mind automatically reached for Gil’s and I felt the truth of his words. Over the last two years, I learned to translate his thoughts to a degree. It wasn’t perfect and I certainly couldn’t pick out specifics. But I knew what it felt like when he was lying and when he was telling the truth. I also knew what it felt like when he cared for someone or was hurting for someone, thanks to Maggie’s involvement with him.

As far as I could discern, he was being truthful. I couldn’t tell the depth of his feelings, but there definitely were feelings for me.

“You wait ‘til now to tell me this?” I demanded.

“You’d just broken up with Wanda,” he argued, “And it didn’t seem like you were over it so… I didn’t want to be a rebound. I…”

“I can’t do this right now,” I breathed and turned to get back to work.

My mind reeled with the new information. Gil… my _boss_ … was interested in me. I avoided meeting his eyes as I worked, suddenly hyper aware of everything where before I was a bit numb to my surroundings.

I wasn’t the least bit attracted to Gil. He was fine, appearance wise. He was shorter than Antoine and had a stocky build. His face always had a bit of stubble and his hair looked like he barely ever brushed it. None of which were features that turned me off, but… there wasn’t anything appealing about him either. He was brash, made a few jokes I found a bit off color, and maybe liked drinking more that I’d prefer. He wasn’t my type and that was that.

Though… it got me wondering… was Antoine my type? Did I _have_ a type?

Antoine was somewhat tall, which was certainly my preference with women. His dark hair was always perfectly in place, even when he had been tearing out things in my kitchen. His pale, flawless skin was almost white and his grey eyes were the color of a cloudy day. I wasn’t sure I was entirely physically attracted to Antoine. At least visually. But damn, he sure felt good pressed up against my body. Though, I reasoned, just about anyone would.

  
  


~

  
  


When I got home, it was still light out so I opted to do some house painting. I put on my panting clothes, a loose, ugly sweater covered in paint splotches, and my oldest pair of jeans, riddled with tears and stains from unknown origins.

About an hour after I started, a knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts. I’d been working in silence, trying to make sense of what my life had become, so the sudden noise made me jump and my heart race.

I glanced through the window and was shocked to see Damian. He smiled and waved.

I opened the door and said, “It’s… day…”

“It’s cloudy,” he shrugged, “And nearly sundown. I’m very old and indirect sunlight doesn’t harm me as much as others.”

“Oh… What are you doing here?” I asked, feeling a little emotionally exhausted from the last two days.

“I have information for you about the murders. Would you like to see it?”

“I’m… I’m not going to invite you in.”

“I was not going to ask,” he said with a chuckle, “I can show you from here.”

“No, let’s… sit,” I said, feeling rude. I went onto the porch and gestured at the swinging bench.

I was surprised, when no one else was near, I felt Damian’s thoughts more strongly than Antoine’s. Though it was similar to Gil’s in that, while I felt it, I couldn’t make sense of it, especially as I didn’t have a point of reference for Damian.

We sat beside each other, but I realized Damian gave lots of space between us as he pulled out a picture from his pocket.

“As far as anyone knows, Fangtasia doesn’t have security cameras,” he explained, “But that’s dangerous, so I do have some hidden outside.”

He handed me the picture. It was of a man wearing heavy goth makeup, his arm around a girl… Dani.

“This is the killer?” I asked, feeling breathless.

“It could be,” he said slowly, “We have no way of knowing right now. I saw him with Dani on Friday, everyone did. But none of us recognized him. If he came on previous nights, he likely wore different makeup, clothes, even cologne to throw us off, probably with a fake ID. I’m still going through the tapes to find who Maggie last left with and trying to see if this man has been here before.”

“T-thank you,” I choked out, surprised and touched by his effort, “I don’t… Thank you.”

He smiled kindly, “I will help solve this however I can, Talia. If you need any assistance on your end, please don’t be afraid to ask.”

Damian reached out and took my hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I do have one request, however,” he added, seeming hesitant. “Please, don’t show this image to anyone else. Antoine, if you must. But I do not want it getting around that I record everyone that comes in and out of Fangtasia. Bad for business and… dangerous for you.”

“Understood,” I nodded.

“Now, I should leave before sunset,” he released my hand and stood, “Antoine won’t be happy I came to see you.”

“He says you’re dangerous,” I told him, “But you’re… helping.”

“I am dangerous,” he grinned, “Just not to you, Talia. Goodbye.”

I blinked and Damian vanished. I thought I imagined it when I saw a bat flapping upwards, into the cloudy sky. Shaking myself, I went back inside and continued painting.

With yet another mystery on my mind, I was feeling quite overwhelmed. Antoine wanted me, Gil wanted me, Damian wanted me according to Antoine… I hadn’t really believed it when Antoine said it at Fangtasia. Damian seemed like the type to flirt with anyone. He ran basically a vampire sex club, after all.

But he went out of his way to help me in my murder investigation. So… maybe he did like me too.

I worked in silence for another hour or so. I wished I could focus my mind on Maggie and Dani’s murders. That was what was really important. But I could only see Antoine’s lust filled face, Gil’s concerned eyes, and Damian’s kind smile. It was strange to go from being broken hearted after a woman to wanted by three men, two of whom were vampires and one of which was my boss.

My front door burst open, making me yelp in surprise and fear. I saw Antoine standing in my doorway, his eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air.

“He was here,” Antoine growled, “You invited him in?”

“I’m not an idiot,” I snapped, dropping my paintbrush onto the tarp, feeling on edge after the jolt of surprise, “I didn’t invite him in.”

“You were outside with him, then.”

“Well… yes… He had information about the murders and—”

“And you could have just spoken through the doorway. You put yourself in danger by being outside with him.”

“It felt rude to just stand there like that… He was being very kind and polite and helpful. He gave me some information. We have a lead, Antoine!”

“A lead isn’t worth risking your life,” he snarled, as he advanced on me. His hands gripped my shoulders tightly.

“He didn’t hurt me!” I said, wincing from the pain, “But you are…”

Antoine took a long, deep breath and slowly released me, “I apologize. I told you, Talia, I am protective of you. It is in my nature.”

“Hurting me is in your nature?” I asked, hugging myself protectively, “Breaking down my door? _Yelling_ at me?”

“Only when you put yourself in needless danger,” he said, his voice softening, “Please, Talia… You understand, I am not human. I react to things differently.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that… You should go.”

“Talia…”

“I rescind my invitation,” I said firmly.

Antoine grunted and slowly backed away, towards the door. He exited, closing it behind him. For a while, he stood there, breathing heavily, but eventually he left, disappearing into the night.

  
  


~

  
  


Sleep was hard to come by that night. I tossed and turned for hours and didn’t do more than doze lightly until the sun rose. In my sleepy mind, I wondered if it was because deep down I was afraid of either Damian or Antoine. But that thought vanished quickly when exhaustion took over.

Thankfully, that day I had the night shift so I could afford to sleep in. I took my time getting ready when I woke up. I looked awful when I saw my reflection in the bathroom mirror, so I spent more time than usual on my hair and makeup. I didn’t usually wear more than lipstick and blush, occasionally eyeshadow and eyeliner if I was in the mood. But I decided some concealer was needed for my eye bags. I also used my eye makeup to try to make my eyes look a bit more alert than I felt.

When I got to Gil’s, Rhonda said “Oh, Talia, you’re working that.”

“Thanks,” I said weakly, trying to sound like I appreciated the compliment.

“Talia,” Gil greeted me gruffly before turning his attention elsewhere.

Work went on as usual. Though I found I had a little less patience for customers thinking about my ‘assets.’ I caught myself openly glaring at a pair of teenagers who were trying to get a peek down my shirt. They blanched and started instead thinking about how much a bitch I was being and wondering if it was ‘that time of the month.’ That set me off and I ‘accidently’ dropped their fried chicken in the offending teenager’s lap.

My tips were unsurprisingly very small, if not nonexistent. I couldn’t bring myself to care.

A few hours after nightfall, the day just got worse when Antoine walked in. He sat in my section.

Gil noticed my unhappiness and said, “Should I kick him out?”

“No,” I replied stiffly, “It’s fine.”

I walked over to Antoine and as professionally as I could said, “What can I get you?”

“A moment of your time,” he said smoothly.

“That’s not on the menu.”

“Talia, please…”

“If you aren’t gonna order something, you can’t stay,” I told him. “We still don’t have TruBlood.”

“Red wine,” he said finally, “But I am not leaving until you agree to speak with me.”

“Coming right up,” I replied coldly.

When I went to the bar, Gil whispered to me, “He’s not worth it.”

“Stay out of my business, _boss_ ,” I hissed back.

True to his word, Antoine didn’t leave. He drank his wine with deliberate slowness and watched me as I worked.

“That vampire’s creepy,” Rhonda remarked to me in a quiet voice. “You’re still dating him?”

I shrugged noncommittally.

After an hour passed, Gil went to Antoine’s table. I didn’t hear the exchange but it was clear Gil was asking him to leave. Antoine refused and Gil became angry. I saw Antoine smile and say something that made Gil visibly pale. Then Gil left the table and Antoine remained.

“What’s wrong?” I asked Gil when he returned to the bar.

“Nothing,” he said shortly. “You should talk to him.”

I blinked in surprise. “Umm… okay… What’d he say to you?”

“You need to work out your own shit and not bring it into my bar,” he snapped.

I gasped, taken aback, “Fine.”

“Good! Go deal with your boyfriend!” Gil waved me off.

I huffed and turned on my heel. I looked at Antoine and gestured at the door. He got up and exited and I was right behind him. He walked into the lot and off to the side, away from people coming and going, before he stopped and faced me.

“What did you say to Gil?” I demanded, crossing my arms.

“I just asked he request you speak with me,” Antoine said, his voice soft, “Please, Talia. I… I care deeply for you and I am sorry I hurt you, physically and emotionally. I am not human, that is true, but… perhaps I can work on myself. Perhaps I can change.”

“Change for me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Vampires are not frozen in place,” he explained, “Though change does not come easily, love can cause it. And… _I love you_ , Talia.”

I blinked, stunned into silence.

“I know it may be too soon for a human to feel the same, but I am certain you feel _something_ , yes? A pulling inside you? A need to be near me?”

I gulped. He was right. Ever since we met, I felt like I needed to be near him. When we were apart, I could only think about him. Was that what love was?

He smiled, seeming pleased, “Yes, you feel it too.”

“I can’t be with someone that hurts me,” I told him.

“Of course not,” he agreed, “Talia, I… I let my fear for your safety get the better of me. It shall not happen again. Please, forgive me, my love? I will do all I can to make up for the pain I have caused.”

I sighed and said, “I… Okay. I get that you’re a vampire and things are different for you, but I don’t want to be afraid you’ll hurt me anytime you get angry.”

“Yes, I understand,” Antoine nodded fervently, “I promise, I would never actually hurt you. And what happened last night will never happen again.”

“Good. And also… If we’re really gonna be in a relationship, I need to know more about you.”

“Of course. We shall get to know each other better.”

“Perfect.”

I returned to work and Antoine left, with the agreement that the next night we would spend some time talking. _Really_ talking. I felt better as I finished up the last few hours of work. Though Gil seemed much more sour than usual.

“You’re gonna still see him?” Gil asked gruffly.

“We’re working things out, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Talia…”

“You think just because you kinda might like me, it gives you a right to butt into my business?”

“I guess not,” he slammed a towel down before turning away from me.

I regretted my words almost right away. Gil had been good to me since I arrived at Engel. Not just anyone wanted to give the newcomer with a girlfriend a job in such a small town. Most potential employers had called me slurs and slammed doors in my face, but Gil hadn’t cared.

“You do a good job and I don’t care about your personal life,” he’d stated when he hired me. “Just don’t go kissing anyone in the bar.”

I knew that was his ‘PC’ way of saying not to engage in PDA where his customers could see. He didn’t want to lose his homophobic patrons. I couldn’t complain about his casual homophobia, though, as long as I was treated somewhat equally as an employee. And I was. My pay was about the same as everyone else’s, though Rhonda was never told off for making out with her husband at the bar.

I still needed my job at Gil’s for the foreseeable future, so I needed to be more careful in how I handled him. But… knowing he held some attraction to me made working there long term a lot less appealing.

  
  


~

  
  


The next day was my day off so I spent it, of course, painting. I worked until sunset and Antoine appeared at my door.

“Come in,” I said, holding the door open for him.

“Thank you, Talia,” he said, his voice low and rumbly.

We sat on the couch. He sat as close as he could, making sure our legs were pressed together.

“Can I ask you about your past?” I began.

“Of course,” he murmured, running a finger up and down my arm absentmindedly.

“Have you… been with a lot of women?”

“None as beautiful as you,” he replied.

“That’s… not an answer,” I said, though a shudder of satisfaction ran through me at his words.

“Some,” he admitted, “I have had a few somewhat long term relationships, but they were not… Shall we say… good for me? It took me a long time to realize what I needed out of a relationship.”

“And what’s that?” I asked, my voice a little squeaky.

He smiled and cupped my cheek, “Someone like you.”

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my train of thought, “In what way?”

“Hmm…” he rumbled, “Someone very caring. You must be very compassionate to endeavor to solve these murders on your own. Hardworking. Independent. And… the most perfect lips…”

He leaned forward and kissed me. I responded for a bit, enjoying the feel of him. But I needed to keep my head so I pushed him away.

“Why do you hate Damian?” I asked, breathing hard.

His expression darkened. “He is a dangerous vampire.”

“You’ve said that, but… _why_?”

“He is used to getting what he wants, in whatever manner he can. I fear that he has decided he wants you and will do whatever he must to have you.”

“Then why didn’t he just take me when he came?” I questioned, “We sat on the porch and he seemed perfectly reasonable.”

“That is the trap,” he explained, as if he were talking to a five year old, “He will pretend to be kind and patient, to lure you in. Once you show any interest in him, he will take advantage and take you for his own. You have seen the bar he runs. You think a man who owns a vampire bar where vampires are allowed to do whatever they wish to humans will show you any compassion once he has you?”

“You’re talking like I’ve already got one foot in his door,” I frowned at him, “I don’t have any interest in Damian, I just don’t understand your hate for him.”

He shook his head sadly, “That is the problem. If you do not avoid him, he will seduce you. He is very talented in the art of seduction. Despite the fact that he supposedly has a husband he loves, he often has sex with humans.”

“He… has a husband?”

“Yes. Do you see now what a deviant he is?”

“Are you calling someone a deviant because he’s married to a man?” I questioned, glaring at him.

“No, because he engages in sexual activities outside his marriage.”

“Maybe he’s polyamorous or has an open relationship. Some people don’t want to just be with one person. It doesn’t mean they’re bad.”

Antoine sighed and said, “You are so kind hearted. You want to see the best in people. But Damian will take advantage of that. When I take you to bed,” he took my hands in his, “I will be attentive to your every desire, but he would use you for his own pleasure. He would not care that you have never been with a man.”

“Okay…” I said slowly, my brain starting to buzz. Making it hard to think. “I guess…”

“I love you,” he stated before crushing his lips to mine.

And we didn’t speak again for a long time.

  
  


~

  
  


When I awoke the next morning, I felt confused. Lost. Restless. My mind was so torn. I felt the need to be near Antoine, but he was so clearly holding back. He avoided almost all my questions the previous night, distracting me with… physical activities.

The night was a blur, but I felt fairly certain we hadn’t actually had sex. Just a lot of kissing and a lot of touching. The most important bits of my clothing were still firmly in place when I woke so I trusted my recollection of events.

I couldn’t bring myself to work on the house. All I could do was pace and think. Thinking around Antoine was difficult. Sometimes my brain would just… stop working. But away from him, it was hard to think about anything _but_ him. How much I wanted to be with him again.

As the sun began to lower, I decided on a course of action. I knew it was probably unwise and reckless and Antoine would be absolutely furious, but… I _had_ to do something.

I called in sick to work, got in my car, and drove to Denton. I needed answers Antoine wouldn’t give. He was holding back, hiding things. But Damian seemed so open. Even his mind was open. I approached the door, just as the sun was setting. It was closed, so I knocked.

The door woman answered it and said, “We’re not open yet, sweet thing.”

“I’m… uh… here to see Damian,” I said, my voice wavering.

“Oh,” she smiled, “Then come on in.”

I followed her inside. I was partially surprised to see workers doing typical pre-opening work. Fangtasia seemed so fantastical that it felt odd to see it was still just a normal bar, which had napkins that had to be refilled.

“Talia?” Damian’s questioning voice called. “Are you alright? Where’s Antoine?”

“He doesn’t know I’m here,” I said quietly, “C-can we talk?”

He nodded, “This way.”

I followed him out of the main area of the bar and into a hall. There were bathrooms, a storage room, and then finally his office. He closed the door behind us and gestured for me to sit in front of the desk. He sat on the other side, leaning back in his chair. His body language read as relaxed, but I saw a tenseness in him.

“If this is about the murders, I haven’t found anything yet,” he explained.

“No, not that. It’s about Antoine.”

“Has he done something?” Damian’s worry broke through into his voice, “Did he hurt you?”

“No… not… That’s why I’m here… I wanted to ask you about him.”

Damian nodded and indicated for me to continue.

“He doesn’t trust you and… It just sounds to me like you two have a history and I’m only getting his side and…” I trailed off helplessly.

Damian took a deep breath and said, “Are you certain you wish to hear?”

“I need to know. I have to… I have to know who Antoine is before… before I get too deep again,” I hadn’t meant to say ‘again,’ but it slipped out.

“Before I tell you, you need to understand something… Most vampires have times in their lives they regret. Most vampires have had a killing spree or two. I certainly am not one to hold that against them as I’m far from exempt.”

I fought back a shudder as I realized what he meant. The man in front of me, the vampire, had killed. Lots of people by the sound of it.

“Especially when vampires are young, it’s easy to get lost in the blood. Forget that humans are real people with feelings just as strong as ours. I believe vampires can change, no matter how cruel they were for a time. I’m an example of that and I do not hide from my bloody past. Do you understand?”

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

“I met Antoine when he was newly turned. His maker was a particularly violent vampire, who left trails of bodies whereever she went until the day she died. The day I killed her.”

“You killed his maker?” I gasped.

“By the time I killed her, he had already left her side. I highly doubt that is why he hates me. Perhaps he hates me because I saw him at his worst. Over two hundred years ago, he and his maker were tearing through France. I saw them slaughtering women and attempted to stop them.”

“Oh…”

“The killing, however… is not the worst of it, in my opinion,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “While I am personally of the belief that vampires can improve and move on from that… there is something for which I can never forgive.”

I gulped, too afraid to ask.

“He and his maker raped most of their victims,” Damian explained.

“Fuck,” I let out in a heavy breath.

“It is just my opinion, of course,” he said, “But I do not believe there is any coming back from that.”

“You’ve… you’ve never…?”

“No,” Damian said firmly, “Some vampires may claim it to be in their nature. Our senses and desires are heightened. But I have lived longer than most and I believe I have a sex drive much stronger than any other vampire… and I have _never_ forced someone against their will.”

“But Antoine has…” I whispered.

“Yes, I witnessed it myself.”

I cleared my throat and said, “You think that’s why he didn’t want you talking to me? Because he knew you’d tell me?”

“Perhaps. Talia, has he mentioned his relationship to the two women that were killed?”

“Maggie and Dani? He said he knew Maggie.”

“He knew both of them,” Damian explained, “He met them here.”

“Here? When?”

“One of the many times he came in, I suppose.”

“Many times…?”

“Until the last few weeks, he was a frequent patron of mine. Despite his dislike of me, he enjoyed what Fangtasia had to offer. Namely the women.”

“He… was _with_ Dani and Maggie?” I asked in a fearful whisper.

“He was. On several occasions.”

“Why didn’t he tell me?” I breathed, feeling tears build in my eyes.

“You already sensed he isn’t being truthful with you,” Damian offered, “Or else you wouldn’t be here to see me.”

“But _you’re_ being truthful?” I demanded, suddenly angry and hurt.

“I’m an open book,” he said, spreading his arms as if to demonstrate his words, “Ask me anything.”

“Are you married?”

“I am. My husband’s name is Vikram and he currently works as a doctor at an emergency room in Decatur.”

“He’s a vampire?”

“No, he isn’t.”

“You have sex with people other than him?” I asked, though my cheeks reddened as I spoke.

“I do. My husband and I are polyamorous. We have both casual sex and romantic relationships with others.”

“That’s what I said!” I exclaimed, “Antoine said it like you were a cheater.”

“It seems Antoine has worked very hard to assassinate my character.”

“How do I know what you’ve said about him isn’t your attempt to do the same?”

“That’s a very good question,” Damian agreed, “I don’t have an answer for you. Anything either of us say could be a lie. Maybe you should trust neither of us!”

“You’re not even going to defend yourself?”

“I don’t really have a good defense. I can tell you anything I want, but you can’t know it’s the truth.”

“Great, so this was a waste of time,” I muttered.

“I’m sorry, Talia,” he said, sounding sincere, “If you came here for solid evidence, I have none to offer. It’s my word against his and I expect mine doesn’t hold that much weight.”

“How old are you?” I asked.

“I was turned in the tenth century.”

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

Damian chuckled, “Did Antoine lie about my age as well?”

“No, he… he just said you were old. I guess I didn’t really have a concept for how old… I was thinking five hundred years max, but a _thousand_ … And Antoine’s only two hundred…”

He nodded slowly, “I do not say this to brag, but I feel you should know that I have had an extremely long time to perfect my self control. Talia, you are never in danger when you are near me.”

There was barely contained emotion behind his words. With my ability, I could feel something strong inside him but I couldn’t identify it. It was something powerful and I was amazed his expression and voice was so controlled.

“W-why do I need to know that?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

A small, somewhat sad smile appeared on his lips, “I would like for you to feel safe around me.”

There was silence between us as I considered that. Maybe Antoine was right, at least about one thing. Maybe Damian wanted me. But I couldn’t get the guts to ask. I didn’t want to presume anything.

“He will not be happy you came here,” Damian said, his voice very quiet.

“He won’t,” I agreed, “But he said he loves me. If that’s true, he’ll understand.”

“He said he loves you,” Damian repeated, though it didn’t sound directed at me, “I see.”

“Vampires can… love, can’t they?”

“Oh, yes. Very deeply. Just as humans can.”

“Good,” I gave a nod and rose, “Thank you for your time.”

“You are welcome here whenever you like, Talia,” he rose as well and stepped around his desk.

He moved to stand in front of me and I registered he and I were close in height. He stood maybe an inch or two taller than me. It was quite a change from Antoine towering over me.

“It’s not really… uh…”

“Your scene,” he chuckled, “I understand that. But I didn’t mean the bar. You are welcome to visit _me_.”

“Oh… Thank you,” I said politely, “I should…”

I turned and quickly left his office. The bar was open as I left. My mind reeled as I pushed past the patrons to get to the exit. I got in my car and drove towards home.

Antoine had, according to Damian, raped people. Damian, according to Antoine, would rape me given the chance. I had no way of knowing which man was lying to me. Or if both were… or neither! Both were vampires and by Damian’s own admission, he had killed people. Antoine never told me he killed anyone, but… I assumed that was probably part of the package of being a vampire. It was something I’d meant to ask the previous night, but Antoine sidetracked me with…

“Oh fuck,” I breathed.

He’d distracted me with sexual activities that I… didn’t really remember consenting to. And with Damian’s revelation that Antoine had been a rapist, that put things in a whole new context. Of course, I didn’t know if Damian was being truthful, but still… it was a concern.

Streetlights flew past me and I realized I was speeding. Not wanting a ticket on top of everything else, I slowed down quickly. Glancing in the mirror, I realized someone was driving very close behind me and nearly rear ended my car as I slowed down so abruptly.

“Shit,” I muttered, though I wondered why they were so close behind me when I was clearly going far beyond the speed limit.

I continued home, trying to focus more on my driving than my relationship problems. As I pulled into my driveway, I saw Antoine was there.

“My love,” he greeted me, “I was so worried… Where were you?”

I felt drained as I walked towards my door and didn’t answer him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me against his chest, inhaling deeply through his nose.

“Fangtasia,” he acknowledged, “You could have been hurt!”

“I’m fine,” I said weakly, “I just wanna go to bed.”

“Shall I join you?” he questioned, his voice that low rumble it always became when he wanted physical closeness.

“Not tonight.”

“What did Damian tell you?” Antoine asked, his voice sounding very measured.

“Not tonight,” I repeated, “Please, Antoine.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“No! I’m fine, just tired. We need to talk, but I really can’t do it tonight.”

“Tomorrow, then? Sunset?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“I will be here at sunset,” he said, cupping my face and kissing me deeply.

I didn’t have the energy to respond and he pulled away fairly soon.

“Tomorrow,” he promised before walking across my yard and into the darkness.

  
  


~

  
  


As I missed work the previous night, Gil had me work the early shift the next day. I hadn’t slept well due to my brain endlessly replaying the conversation with Damian, so I was very zombie-like as I worked.

I barely noticed that there was an unfamiliar face. Most of the time, everyone in Gilmour’s were locals. Especially on weekdays, it was rare to see someone I didn’t know. But the newcomer stood out almost as much as Antoine had.

My voice sounded dead and far away as I took his order. He smiled at me, kindly and maybe even sympathetically. Though I was extremely out of it, I did notice his mind worked similarly to Gil’s, as I couldn’t understand the thoughts that radiated from him.

I was just tired. I didn’t know what to think or who to believe. My body craved Antoine but my mind didn’t trust him. I was so out of it, I didn’t even realize how long the newcomer had been there until Rhonda pointed it out.

“Breakfast _and_ lunch,” she whispered, “Poor guy, probably kicked out by his wife.”

“Some people like it here,” I said numbly, continuing on.

Gil was cold to me all day. I couldn’t bring myself to care. Unless he intended to fire me, my boss deciding he wasn’t into me was far from the worst part of my week. Though I knew I probably needed to start looking for a new job. The idea of asking Damian if he was hiring passed through my mind, but it was such a ridiculous thought that I shut it down instantly.

My body ached. I wasn’t sure if it was lack of sleep or because I really needed to be near Antoine. I found the longer I went without his presence, the more I just… hurt. All I wanted was to go home and sleep. But I wanted Antoine there with me. But did I? Part of me worried he’d raped me. The other part just wanted him to hold me. Yet another part just wanted to go back in time and never move to Texas.

When the end of my shift came, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Though, I was aware enough to notice the stranger still hadn’t left. It struck me as odd that Gil hadn’t kicked him out. Usually if people hung around too long, even if they ordered more food and drinks as he had, Gil would at least question them about their intentions. It wasn’t my problem, I decided as I got in my car and drove home.

The roads were dark and quiet as I drove. As much as I looked forward to being alone at home, I missed the buzz of the bar. With other people’s thoughts, I didn’t have to acknowledge my own. I pulled down my long driveway and turned off the engine. More silence… I just wanted some noise to focus on besides my own mind.

As I approached the house, however, my wish was answered. I felt something nearby. Someone. I decided it was probably someone driving past or an animal with particularly strong thought patterns. I didn’t get a clear idea of what they were thinking, so I didn’t pay it much mind.

However, when I got to the door, something felt wrong. The mind was close. It was excited.

I paused with my hand on the handle.

The mind filled with confusion and disappointment. Something was going wrong. Unexpected.

I backed away, into the yard.

Anger. Fury.

I turned and sprinted away from the house and I heard the door burst open behind me and footsteps chasing after me.

“Help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs before I was tackled to the ground, wind knocked out of me.

“Shut up!” the man gave my head a whack and then wrapped something wide around my neck, “Fucking slut! You vampire fucker!”

He tightened the thing around my neck and I clawed at it, trying to keep it from suffocating me. I felt his mind. It was a flurry of rage and pain. He was angry I hadn’t gone into the house. That I hadn’t given him the time of day at Fangtasia. Things would’ve been so much easier if I’d just stopped and went home with him instead of running out of the bar.

Then the weight on my back disappeared and the thing around my neck loosened. I turned and saw Antoine had the man pinned under him. Then the sound of flesh being torn as Antoine bit into the man’s neck. His scream of pain became a gurgle. And then silence.

Antoine continued to drink from the still body of my attacker. I watched on in shock, unable to react. Then a man, the stranger from Gil’s who had been there all day, came into sight. He looked between me, Antoine with my attacker, and back to me. He hurried to my side.

I backed away instinctively.

“It is alright,” he said softly, “I am a doctor and you have a head injury. May I?”

I swallowed hard and nodded, though the movement hurt. I put my hand on my head, feeling wetness there, and pulled it away to see blood.

The stranger carefully removed the object from around my neck, which I realized was a belt, and then took a handkerchief from his pocket to press to my injured head. He looked into my eyes and seemed pleased with what he saw.

“I do not think you have a concussion,” he stated, “May I carry you inside?”

“I…” I began, but Antoine interrupted.

“No!” he growled, his mouth covered in blood as he faced me, “Talia is mine.”

“She needs a doctor,” the stranger said, his voice even and unaffected by Antoine’s aggression, “I have no claim on her other than to insure her injuries are treated.”

Antoine growled more and took a step towards me. His eyes fell on my bloody head and I saw his fangs lengthen again, his eyes becoming red.

The stranger stepped between us, “If you cannot control yourself, I _will_ defend Talia.”

“She is mine,” Antoine repeated.

“I am not disputing that. But you are a danger to her in this state. Allow me to at least stop her bleeding and then you can be near her.”

Though he seemed reluctant, Antoine nodded and told me, “I will return” before he ran off into the trees.

“My name is Vikram,” the man introduced himself, “May I carry you inside?”

“S-sure,” I squeaked out, still stunned.

He scooped me into his arms easily and moved inside. He laid me carefully on the couch and knelt beside me.

“One moment,” he pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed a number. He spoke into it in another language for a few moments and then hung up.

The man, Vikram, began treating my wound and checking my bruised neck.

“Are you Damian’s husband?” I asked, suddenly recognizing the name.

He smiled, “I am.”

“Why are you here?”

“Damian was worried after you left last night,” he explained. “He asked me to keep an eye on you.”

“But… what could you do?” I asked dully. “You’re human.”

“Damian told you I was not a vampire?” he asked.

“Yeah…”

“Did he say I was human?” His eyes had a mischievous twinkle.

“I guess he didn’t…”

Vikram said nothing else.

Eventually, there was a knock at the door. Automatically I started to rise to get it but Vikram gently pushed me back down and moved to the door himself.

He opened it and I saw Damian standing there, holding what looked to be a doctor’s bag.

“Hello, Talia,” he greeted, “How do you feel?”

“Umm… okay, I guess.”

Damian handed Vikram the bag and Vikram returned to my side.

“I’m going to take care of the dead body in your yard,” Damian stated.

“Thanks,” I said tonelessly as Vikram applied medicated ointment to my head injury.

Damian smiled and left.

Vikram put a bandage over my wound and seconds later, Antoine came into my house and sat beside me on the couch, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“That’s for the doctor to say,” I remarked.

Vikram smiled at me and said, “I believe you are alright. I see no signs of a concussion and your injuries are superficial.”

“Thanks,” I told him, “I… Who was that?”

“Damian is finding out exacts,” Vikram explained, “But it seems that is the murderer of your friends Maggie and Dani, as well as many others.”

“Really?” My eyes widened and Antoine’s arm tightened around me slightly.

“Damian believes he followed you home last night.”

“I was here last night…” Antoine frowned, “Perhaps he saw me and decided to come another day.”

“That is likely,” Vikram agreed.

“So… it’s over? The killer is… gone?”

“He is,” Vikram confirmed.

“Great…” I said, my eyes closing as I leaned against Antoine.

  
  


~

  
  


I didn’t remember how I got there, but I awoke in my bed, carefully tucked under the covers, still in my clothes from the previous evening. As far as I could tell, my house was empty so I showered, careful not to get my bandaged head wet, and went downstairs.

It didn’t seem like last night had actually happened. It felt like a dream. But when a knock on the door came and I found Vikram standing there, I had to accept it was real.

“Uh… Hi,” I greeted shyly, feeling a little awkward.

He gave me a kind smile and said, “I brought you breakfast.”

Vikram held out a brown paper bag.

“Oh, thank you,” I said, stunned as I took it, “Would you… like to come in?”

“Thank you,” he inclined his head and stepped inside.

We moved to the living room and sat on my only piece of furniture, the couch. Feeling suddenly ravenous, I opened the bag and found what looked like a very professionally wrapped breakfast sandwich that looked like it could’ve been from a fast food chain but much higher quality.

“Damian made it for you,” Vikram explained, “He would have brought it himself, but… sunlight.”

“Of course… Umm… tell him I said thank you. It looks delicious.”

“I will leave you to enjoy it shortly,” he said, “But I thought you would want to know of the murderer.”

The sandwich could wait, I decided, suddenly feeling very alert.

“His name was Dean Morgan. We discovered Maggie and Dani were not his only victims, but they stood out because they were both from Engel, an extremely small town.”

“And he’s… dead?”

“He is, however… We have taken steps to make it look like he was not killed by a vampire.”

I blinked in surprise, “Why? It was…”

“Though he was definitely here to kill you, a human killed by a vampire is not good for vampire-kind as a whole right now. The political situation is delicate and even the killing of a murderer would not help vampires’ public image.”

“Right…”

“I have come to ask that you not tell people the truth. At least not people you do not trust fully.”

“So no one can know he attacked me?”

“The police received an anonymous tip last night and found his apartment full of pictures of his victims and ‘trophies’ he took from them. Everyone will know he was the killer.”

I nodded slowly, “I understand.”

“Of course you should confide in people you trust, who can support you. It was a traumatic event and I would never ask you keep it solely to yourself.”

“I won’t tell anyone who’d spread it around,” I promised.

“Thank you, Miss McDonald,” Vikram said softly. “The killer’s body will likely be found within the next few days, damaged by the elements so that no one will know he was drained by a vampire. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Oh, umm… Not that I know of. Thank you.”

He smiled and inclined his head before rising, “Despite the circumstances, I am very glad to meet you. I hope we can see each other again.”

  
  


~

  
  


As I couldn’t, and didn’t really want to, tell Gil I’d been attacked by a murderer, I went into work that evening. I put makeup on my bruised neck to hide my injury, but there was nothing I could do about my bandaged head.

“What happened?” Gil demanded when I arrived, his eyes full of anger and concern.

“Bumped my head into one of the cabinets,” I explained sheepishly, “In my kitchen, you know? I lifted something and forgot it was above me and… yeah.”

He didn’t seem convinced, but said nothing.

I worked hard to keep my mind on my task. There were so many other things I wanted to think about, but that had to wait. I had work to do.

“Did you hear?” Rhonda began, “They think they know who killed Dani and Maggie!”

“Really?” I replied, trying to sound interested.

“This guy from Fort Worth. His apartment was just covered in pictures of the girls. Not just Dani and Maggie, but lots of girls he’d killed. Pictures of… them dead.”

“Gross,” I said, not trusting myself to say anything else.

“They haven’t found him yet, but it’s just a matter of time.”

The entire bar buzzed with the news. I could tell from their minds, some weren’t convinced the human was behind it. It _had_ to be a vampire. Most, however, were just glad about the discovery of Dean Morgan. Nearly everyone had liked Dani and were happy to know her killer would soon be brought to justice.

When the sun set, I was surprised to see Antoine and Damian enter the bar. Antoine made a beeline to me and Damian went to the bar and spoke quietly to Gil, who seemed to be listening intently.

“How do you feel?” Antoine asked, his hands on my shoulders.

“I’m fine… what’re y’all doing here?”

“Damian and I had some… details to discuss. He had business with Gil and I wanted to make sure you were alright, so we came here together. Perhaps you should take the rest of the night off?”

“I can’t,” I whispered, “Gil doesn’t know about… and I don’t have any good reason to…”

Gil approached then, with Damian right behind him, and said, “Take the night off.”

“W-what?” my jaw dropped.

“It’s a slow night. You should recover from your… run-in with a cabinet,” he explained. “Go ahead.”

“Oh, okay…” I said, still stunned.

Antoine took my hand and led me out of the bar. Damian followed behind. Antoine brought me to my car and held out his hand.

“Keys. I am driving you home.”

“I’m fine. Vikram said I didn’t have a concussion or anything.”

“You are not fine,” Damian offered, his voice soft, “It was a trauma and you seem a little… distracted.”

“I can handle Talia myself,” Antoine growled.

“Handle me?” I questioned, my eyebrows raised.

“I mean… Talia, you know English is not my native tongue. I did not mean…”

“Whatever,” I sighed, “Damian…”

“Yes?” he seemed pleased for me to address him.

“Thanks for breakfast. And for… dealing with the… you know.”

“You are very welcome. If there is anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Antoine let out a low rumble of displeasure.

I pulled out my keys and gave them to Antoine, not having the energy to argue. “Let’s go.”

He drove me home and we were silent until we arrived. I sat on the couch. Just… drained. It seemed like since meeting Antoine, I always was tired. Except for the morning after he’d saved me from the Bells. I’d felt like a whole new person. But since then… I just was always exhausted.

“We need to talk,” I told him slowly.

“Talia…”

“And you need to keep your hands to yourself while we do,” I stated firmly, “Last time it just devolved into kissing and I’m telling you right now, I don’t want that today.”

He nodded his agreement.

“Damian told me a few things,” I began slowly, “When I visited him at Fangtasia a few days ago.”

Antoine frowned deeply but said nothing.

“He said that you killed a lot of people… with your maker, when you were first turned. Is that true?”

“It is,” he confirmed, “And you can be certain that in his long life, Damian has killed many more than I.”

“This isn’t about Damian. I want to know about _you_ before we move forward. But I had to go to Damian to get answers because you wouldn’t give them.”

“You did not ask.”

“I was trying to the other night when… You just started kissing me and didn’t let me get to all my questions.”

“Talia, I am sorry. You are just so… irresistible.”

“How irresistible?” I questioned, “Did we… have sex?”

“You do not remember?”

“It’s all fuzzy. You started kissing me and my brain just… I don’t know, shut down or something.”

“We kissed and… removed a few articles of clothing. But little else. You became tired so I carried you to your bed and you quickly fell asleep in my arms. I had to leave before the sun rose, of course.”

“Oh, good,” I breathed a sigh of relief, “Thanks.”

“Did you worry about something?”

“I just… I didn’t remember, and that scared me. And… Damian said… you’d… raped people.”

Antoine’s expression darkened, “Did he?”

“Have you?” I asked in a whisper.

“No, of course not,” he said firmly, sounding angry, “I warned you Damian would lie and say whatever he needed to draw you away from me and into his bed. He wants you to feel unsafe with me.”

“Okay, I get that, but you don’t tell me things! How did you know Maggie Sinclair?”

He closed his eyes for a long moment, breathing deeply. When he opened them, he seemed calmer and said, “We met at Fangtasia.”

“You had sex with her?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t tell me.”

“It was not relevant.”

“But it makes me think you’re hiding things from me, Antoine. If you really want a serious relationship with me, I need honesty. I’ve already been burned once because I put a lot of trust into someone and paid for it. I don’t want to make the same mistake again.”

“I understand,” he put his hand on my cheek, “I am sorry I did not tell you about Maggie. I am glad you know now, however. Because why would Damian let me into his bar if he thought I was a dangerous rapist?”

My brain began to buzz lightly, as it often did around Antoine, and thinking became difficult, “Yeah… good point.”

“I promised to never cause you harm,” he murmured. “You need not to go to Damian for answers, my beautiful Talia. I will tell you everything you want to know.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is only part 1 of what will be a multipart series. Talia has many more vampire related adventures ahead. I currently have three more parts written that will be posted as soon as they have been thoroughly edited.


End file.
